The present invention relates to an air set sand molding apparatus.
Mold patterns are used to for making sand molds, which include sand mold patterns, sand mold parts, and sand mold cores used in the metal casting process. A pattern is formed in the sand mold and casting fluid is poured into the sand mold. The sand mold can be formed using a method referred to as air set molding. In air set molding, a mixture of sand, a resin, and a catalyst is poured into a molding flask that includes a pattern. The pattern is at least a portion of the cast tooling or part. The mixture cures in the molding flask to create the sand mold. The cured sand mold must be removed from the molding flask, which presents many challenges. To remove the sand mold, the molding flask is turned over or upside down so that the sand mold drops out of the molding flask by gravity. However, this often times damages the sand mold or the sand mold does not fall out of the molding flask by gravity. If the sand mold does not fall out of the molding flask, the user often times hits the molding flask to urge the sand mold out of the molding flask. Hitting the molding flask (e.g., with a hammer) can damage the molding flask and/or the sand mold. The molding flask is intended to be used multiple times. Dropping the sand mold by gravity can damage the sand mold.